Sensex snaps 5-day losing streak; fertiliser stocks rally

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Buoyed by a slew of reform measures announced by the government and lower-than-expected inflation data, key equity benchmarks closed Friday's session in the green, though for the week it more or less remained in a tight range.

Sensex snaps 5-day losing streak; fertiliser stocks rally

Buoyed by a slew of reform measures announced by the government and lower-than-expected inflation data, key equity benchmarks closed Friday's session in the green, though for the week it more or less remained in a tight range.

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Sensex snaps 5-day losing streak; fertiliser stocks rally

Buoyed by a slew of reform measures announced by the government and lower-than-expected inflation data, key equity benchmarks closed Friday's session in the green, though for the week it more or less remained in a tight range.

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Buoyed by a slew of reform measures announced by the government and lower-than-expected inflation data, key equity benchmarks closed Friday's session in the green, snapping a five-day losing streak, though for the week the market more or less remained in a tight range.

The 30-share Sensex gained 92 points to close at 19322.22, and the 50-share Nifty added 32 points to close at 5882.65.

In a big push for the reforms process, the Cabinet last evening decided on a slew of key policy issues. The Cabinet cleared the Land Acquisition bill. The bill now needs the consent of the Parliament. It also agreed to set up a cabinet committee on investment to fast-track large infrastructure projects.

Key policymakers, including the finance minister, expressed hope that these decisions will bear fruit.

Stocks in rate-sensitive sectors such as banks and real estate did well on rising hopes the Reserve Bank of India will move towards easing interest rates starting early next year.

Inflation declined to 7.24 percent in November mainly on account of lower prices of some vegetables, giving a cue to RBI to consider interest rate cut next week to promote sagging growth.

Fertiliser shares rallied after the government approved a new policy to encourage investment in urea manufacturing, in a move seen expediting USD 6.5 billion in projects that have been held back. The top gainer was FACT (up 16.12 percent) followed by National Fertilizers (up 1.62 percent), Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers (up 2.39 percent) and Chambal Fertilisers (0.81 percent).

Indian equity benchmarks were trading higher with marginal gains following lower than expected inflation in November, helped by banks stocks. The Bank Nifty rose 0.94 percent as country's largest lender State Bank of India rallied 2 percent while its rival ICICI Bank was up 0.92 percent.

Equity benchmarks, which barely moved despite a slew of measures announced by the government on Thursday, reacted positively to November inflation (WPI) number, which came in lower at 7.24% against an expectation of 7.6%.